there who has been anticipating it.) Also, not for nothing, the Dodgers are working on a 28-year title drought of their own, a figure that seems qquaint on Chicagos north side.dddddddd

After five Big Ten players were ejected from games the first week of the season, conference coordinator of officials Bill Carollo has been spending an inordinate amount of time dissecting targeting penalties.Probably our most difficult call, Carollo said at the outset of an interview with The Associated Press.Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys, who had three players tossed for targeting against Oregon State, said there remains gray area in defining what constitutes targeting, and some fans complain that the game is losing the physical aspects that make it appealing.Carollo understands. But he also knows that player safety is paramount for the sake of the games future.Were trying to get it right -- what makes the most sense to protect the player, Carollo said. But lets still call it football. Were not playing touch football.The targeting penalty was adopted in 2013 as a way to reduce helmet-to-helmet hits and potential head and neck injuries. The penalty is 15 yards, plus ejection of the player who committed the foul.All targeting fouls are reviewed, but replay officials until this year were limited to reviewing only if there was forcible contact to the head and neck area, and if the hit was made with the crown of the helmet. Now review officials can judge how the contact occurred, whether the player launched into an opponent or whether the contact was more incidental.The replay official also is allowed to stop play and call a targeting penalty himself if the infraction is egregious and missed by on-field officials.In the seasons first 87 Football Bowl Subdivision games, there were 16 targeting penalties, with two overturned on review, NCAA coordinator of officials Rogers Redding said.Carollo, who oversees officials in the Mid-American Conference and two lower-tier leagues in addition to the Big Ten, said he supported all decisions by his on-field and replay officials.In the Big Ten, Cody Poock, Jonathan Celestin and Taiyon Devers, all of Minnesota , were ejected for targeting, as were Iowas Josey Jewell and Nebraskas Luke Gifford.Carollo called Poocks hit on an Oregon State receiver garden variety, pretty routine, pretty standard. Celestin was flagged for hitting a sliding quarterback in what Carollo said was a good example of a new rule this year protecting defenseless players. Carollo said Devers infraction -- hitting a defenseless quarterback after he released the ball -- wasnt as obvious and needed replay to confirm that it was helmet-to-helmet contact.Claeys said he likes the targeting rule but would like to see it evolve some more.There still is some gray area just like in whats a catch and whats not a catch sometimes on the replay. So it still can come down to what type of replay official is or how people see it, he said. As we go on, hopefully that gray area can be eliminated, and will begin to tell the difference in which ones are unavoidable. If the quarterback goes down late or something like that -- it is football and its fast. I do think some of those (head hits) are unavoidable. Hopefully as the years go on we can get that cleaned up a little bit.Iowas Jewell was ejected for putting a neck-whipping, helmet-to-helmet block on a Miami (Ohio) player during an Iowa punt return.You can blow the guy up, you can hit him in the chest and puncture his lung, but you cant hit him in the head, Carollo said.Gifford was thrown out for hitting Fresno State quarterback Chason Virgil. Even though Gifford led his hit with hands to the shoulders, his helmet slid up and made contact with Virgils. If the head contact is with force, youll get a targeting call, Carollo said.Another flag for targeting in the Nebraska game was picked up because a video review ruled out head-to-head contact.Carollo said coaches are doing a good job teaching players to lower the target zone in tackling.As for his officials, Carollo said he tells them the increasing speed of the game makes it imperative that they err on the side of caution, throw a flag when they suspect targeting and let the replay official take a look.The game is played in the air and these are great athletes, he said. Theyre not trying to hurt their opponent, but sometimes they do hit them in the head when they are defenseless and with force, and youre going to get a flag.---Online:AP college football website: http://collegefootball.ap.org Nike Zoom NZ Outlet . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Cheap Nike Zoom NZ Store . JOHNS, N. http://www.discountnikezoomnz.com/ . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. Nike Zoom NZ Sale . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Cheap Nike Shoes NZ From China . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. After going 52 years without a crown, the city of Cleveland might be in line for an embarrassment of championship riches. Just four months after the Cavaliers snapped the citys title drought with an NBA Finals victory, here the Indians are, in the World Series for the first time since 1997.No matter how you slice it, this will be sweet stuff for history-hungry baseball fans. If the Dodgers emerge from the NLCS, youve got the long-anticipated rematch of the 1920 World Series, when Cleveland knocked off Brooklyn in the second-to-last best-of-nine series. (Well, surely there could be someone out there who has been anticipating it.) Also, not for nothing, the Dodgers are working on a 28-year title drought of their own, a figure that seems qquaint on Chicagos north side.ddddddddddddOf course, as weve been musing about since the trade deadline, you could hardly have a more historically significant series than the Cubs and Indians, who have gone a combined 176 years without a World Series title. Somehow, the Cubs and Indians have never met in the World Series, not even in the movies, and despite the fact that for 60 years they existed in eight-team leagues.As fun as the historical angles might be, the 2016 World Series will be an actual baseball matchup and a very interesting one at that.Lets see how the Tribe matches up with the NLCS combatants. ' ' '